It wasn't until evening that Chang An finally gathered all the children in the village together. He looked at Shi Kuang, who was already stunned, and said
"Brother Shi, please go back to Shi Village and inform the village of this matter."
Shi Kuang came back to his senses and asked
"What about you?"
Chang An looked at the children.
"There are so many children here that need care. Let's stay here and wait for the Shicun people to come and then resettle them."
Shi Kuang looked at Yang Bai who was still sleeping, nodded, and said
"Please, Brother Chang."
After saying that, he used all his strength and ran out.
Chang An looked at Chang Sheng who fainted, gently let her lean on him, and sat quietly in the yard with a complicated expression.
Will Ishimura be next?
He was thinking that judging from what Yang Bai said in the morning, at least when Yang Bai left the village, the village was still normal. However, in just one morning, everyone in the village was poisoned and died. What's even more strange is that this poison accurately avoided the children, and all the children in the village were unharmed. He couldn't imagine how it could be done, and how terrible that person or group of people must be.
At least he tried every means, but felt that it was completely impossible to poison all the adults in a village quietly and avoid all the children accurately.
Perhaps, it was really the Demon King who was seeking his life, Chang An thought.
It wasn't until the moon hung high in the starry sky that Chang An saw the sparse firelight moving towards the village in the distance outside the village.
Shi Kuang came with the people from Shicun.
The villagers saw the children in the yard all silent. The old village chief's cloudy eyes flickered with the flames of the torches around him. His old and white hands unconsciously clenched the crutches, his lips trembled slightly, and he said in a trembling voice.
"here we go again."
The villagers brought some food and began to distribute it to the children. Chang An watched all this silently. He had calmed down. He put Chang Sheng and Yang Bai close together, walked to the village chief, and said
"Village chief, could you please take a moment to speak."
The old village chief looked at Chang An in surprise.
"Who are you…"
Shi Kuang came over.
"Village chief, this is brother Chang An. He and his sister are staying at my house these days."
The village chief nodded.
"Oh, I did hear that two strangers came to the village yesterday."
Chang An nodded, and he stretched out his right hand to signal the village chief to go and talk with him elsewhere. The village chief stared at Chang An for a while, and saw that his expression was serious and did not seem to be joking, so he nodded and said
"Okay, let's go outside."
Then he turned around and ordered the villagers.
"You guys can ask who those dolls are from later and then send them back."
Chang An frowned, a little unhappy, but he couldn't say anything.
On a starry night, Chang An and the old village chief were walking on the muddy path of Yangjia Village. The old village chief had a hunched body and looked much shorter than Chang An.
"Mr. Chang, if you have anything to ask, just ask."
The old village chief got straight to the point and said directly.
When Chang An saw this, he didn't talk nonsense.
"I heard Brother Shi Kuang mention the legend of the Demon King during the day. I am very interested in this kind of legend. However, what Brother Shi Kuang said is incomplete, so I would like to ask the old village chief to talk about this legend again."
The old village chief stopped, looked faintly in the direction of Chijiang River, and sighed.
"It's not a legend, it's a real thing."
Chang Jing stood aside quietly, waiting for the old village chief to continue. The old village chief glanced at him and continued.
"You have also seen that all the adults in Yang's village died in less than a day."
Chang An shook his head.
"But Yang Bai is still alive."
The old village chief smiled bitterly.
"It's a matter of time."
Chang An asked again.
"What really happened a hundred years ago."
The old village chief stared into the distance, his thoughts wandering back to the distant past.
"I was eight years old that year, and it was summer. The village was as quiet and peaceful as tonight. Apart from the sound of insects, there was nothing outside. I was sleeping. It's summer here, and mosquitoes are everywhere. It was so much that I didn’t sleep for long before I felt so itchy that I couldn’t sleep. I thought about sleeping with my parents next door. When I walked to the door, I saw my parents pushing the door open and coming out. I called them, but they didn’t say anything. I saw something was wrong with them, so I called them hard, but they didn't say anything, and they didn't seem to see me. They just walked outside. I felt something was wrong, so I called them hard, but they still didn't hear me, they just kept going. I walked forward, walked out of my home, walked out of the village, and walked very far. I felt very scared. I ran to other people’s houses and wanted to call for help, but I shouted for a long time and no one heard me. I had to do it alone. I followed him secretly until I reached the edge of the Chijiang River, and saw..."
When the old village chief said this, his voice became a little excited. He paused and tried to calm down his mood. Seeing his abnormal expression, Chang An knew that the village chief must have seen something terrible.
he asked
"Saw something."
The old village chief's voice was still trembling.
"I saw not only my parents, but also people from our village and Yangjia Village on the edge of the Chijiang River. They all looked like my parents, looking in a daze and not knowing what they were doing. , just standing on the shore. At first I thought they were having a meeting, but later I found out that they were not. They stood like that for half the night, no one spoke. I stood behind and watched them from a distance, not daring to express my anger. , until I was tired of looking at them, and they all fell to the ground. I was anxious, so I ran over. When I ran to my parents, I saw that my parents had turned into mummies! "
Chang An was shocked and blurted out:
"impossible!"
The old village chief sighed
"That's the truth. I was very scared at the time, but I still went to look at the other people and found that they had all turned into mummies. I still haven't figured out how people who were fine just now turned into mummies in the blink of an eye. . I was so scared that I sat on the ground directly, but when I touched the ground with my hand, I felt that the ground was wet. I felt strange that it hadn’t rained in those two days. The ground should be dry in the summer, but I didn’t care at that time. After getting so much, I picked up my parents and ran back as hard as I could. At this moment, I felt that my parents, who were tall before, became very light, as if they had lost their weight all of a sudden. I didn’t care about that, I just ran with all my strength. I ran away, I don’t know how long, and I ran back to the village. I put my parents on the bed, ran back to the house and fell asleep. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow, my parents will still be the same as before. Make breakfast for me."
At this point, the old village chief's eyes began to become frightened, as if he recalled something more terrifying.
"I will never forget what happened next. When I woke up the next day, no one asked me to get up, and no one was making breakfast. I accidentally looked at my hand, only to find that both hands were already The dried blood and soil, I recalled the wet soil I touched last night, and realized that it was not water, but blood flowing in the mud. I ran to my parents' house desperately, but there was nothing in the house. , I clearly remember that I put my parents on the bed, but now there is nothing in the house. I ran desperately to the riverside last night, only to find that those people from last night had also disappeared, and I ran back again He went to the village and went crazy, knocking on other people's doors desperately..."
After Chang An heard the story, he still felt it was ridiculous. He asked
"Even if what you say is true, then how could you ignorant children survive a hundred years ago?"
The village chief glanced at Chang An indifferently and asked something that made Chang An's hair stand on end.
"Have you not noticed that no one in our fishing village eats fish?"
Chang An's horrified look quickly dilated in the old village chief's pupils. At this moment, he finally figured out a lot of things.
"It turns out that this is why all the fish in the village are made into salted dried fish for easier preservation."
The old village chief smiled sadly and said
"Since I can remember, our village has maintained this tradition, only fishing and not eating fish. It was only when I grew up that I understood why we did this."
Chang An asked again
"You rely on the Chijiang River and don't eat fish. How do you get those vegetables?"
The old village chief said
"Yangjia Village is different from our village. They grow vegetables and we fish. The vegetables are not easy to preserve, so we eat the vegetables. Now, the dried fish we preserve are enough to feed these children for several years. After a few years, they will be able to survive on their own.”
Chang An said
"Do the villagers know these things?"
The old village chief shook his head
"They think this is a legend, but for hundreds of years, people have always died inexplicably in the village. In fact, everyone knows it."
Chang An nodded secretly. No wonder the villagers were very calm when Shi Meng died last night.
"So, every time you send dead people to the river, it is just to offer them to the devil, hoping to appease the devil's anger?"
The old village chief nodded and said
"The legend of the Demon King has been circulating here for thousands of years. If I hadn't seen these things with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. Later, our dolls gradually grew up, but some of them would always die suddenly. , I thought this was the devil coming again, so I sent the dead to the riverside to offer sacrifices. Sure enough, after a few years of peaceful living, this rule was preserved."
Chang An sneered.
"Dedicated to the devil, but now he comes to ask for his life again."
He went on to say
"The rule of not eating fish started before that incident a hundred years ago. So, did something like this happen much earlier, so your ancestors left such a rule?"
The village chief shook his head blankly.
"I don't know, maybe, but that's no longer important to us. We are doomed this time."
Chang An suddenly felt a little angry, angry at the cowardice of these people.
"In that case, why don't you leave."
The village chief smiled bitterly
"Leave? Where to go? We have been living here for generations. We can do nothing but fish. If we go elsewhere, we will probably starve to death. It is better to stay here. At least we can live peacefully for several years. Besides, what kind of devil is that? With such vast magical powers, can we really run away?"
Chang An was speechless for a moment and didn't know where to start. At this time, he had a rough outline of the whole story in his mind, but he didn't know whether he should tell the villagers.
Because he felt that even if he said it, it would be meaningless.
He looked at the village chief and villagers with pity, then thought of his sister Chang Sheng, and once again felt his powerlessness.
He looked up at the night sky, the moon was bright and the wind was clear, as if he was witnessing the bleak world. He listened in all directions, and the sound of insects echoed between heaven and earth, as if he was burying those who suffered deeply.
Everything happened unexpectedly.
"village head"
Not far behind Chang An and the village chief, weak shouts came over. Chang An and the village chief looked back to see a middle-aged man lying on the ground. His left hand was covering his abdomen, and the fingers of his right hand were firmly inserted into the mud. In the field, he raised his head hard and looked at the village chief and Chang An in front of him, his face had turned sallow.
"Save me, I don't want to die."
This was his last plea. His body became limp, and he fell to the ground with a "pop", and his begging eyes became dull and distracted.
Chang An quickly ran over, but it was too late, the man was no longer breathing.
The village chief behind him murmured
"It's started, everyone is going to die, no one can survive, hahahaha."
He suddenly laughed wildly and ran away like crazy, looking nothing like a hundred-year-old man.
Chang An had no time to care about him, because the next moment, the children who were resting in the courtyard suddenly ran out and scattered everywhere.
Chang An secretly screamed, so he used Qing Kung Fu and rushed towards the yard like flying.
As soon as he arrived outside the hospital, his foot was suddenly grabbed tightly by a hand.
"Save me"
The sound of pleading came from the soles of his feet. Chang An looked down. It was Shi Kuang's third uncle. He was lying on the ground and crawling in pain.
Chang An gently held his hand and turned him over, wanting to transfer some inner strength to him. But when he turned over, he saw a big bloody hole in the third uncle's abdomen. The third uncle's other hand It was inserted into his abdomen, blood stained his arm, and you could vaguely see that his fingers were still digging hard at something.
"I feel uncomfortable."
The third uncle said in pain. As he spoke, the hand inserted into his abdomen did not stop. Because of the pain, he dug his own abdomen with his hand.
Chang An looked at him blankly. He gently stretched out his right hand. His right hand became hot. "Pa", a palm force full of Kuofu-level internal power easily broke the third uncle's heart. He used all his strength to ensure that When the third uncle died, he felt nothing.
He walked towards the courtyard indifferently. At this time, there were still some strange things in the villagers. Yang Bai and Chang Sheng still hadn't woken up. Shi Kuang was sitting next to him, looking at Yang Bai blankly.
"Brother Shi."
Chang An came over.
Shi Kuang still looked at Yang Bai blankly and murmured:
"Brother Chang, tell me, will I die?"
Chang An looked at Shi Kuang carefully. His hands were shaking, his face was covered with sweat, and his feet were as stiff as numbness. Chang An looked at the yard, feeling something was wrong, and asked the villagers in the yard. .
"Ishimura was so kind when you guys came here."
Some villagers who have not lost their minds answered
"All is well in the village."
Chang An said hurriedly
"Let's go!"
The villagers were stunned.
Chang An said loudly
"Yangjiacun is the most dangerous place now. Go back to Shicun quickly, maybe you can save your life!"
When everyone heard this, hope rose in their hearts
"Run!"
Someone shouted, and everyone ran for their lives and scattered.
Suddenly there were only four people left in the yard, Chang An.
Chang An saw Shi Kuang still sitting there blankly and said
"Brother Shi, let's go."
Shi Kuang turned around, smiled sadly, and said
"I have no feeling in my feet."
Chang An was shocked. He reached out and touched Shi Kuang's leg. There was nothing abnormal. He patted Shi Kuang's leg a little harder.
"Does it hurt?"
Shi Kuang shook his head, and Chang An added a little more strength.
"Does it hurt?"
Shi Kuang still shook his head.
Chang Anxin said that he was in trouble. He heard from Yan Sihai that someone once had his limbs suddenly paralyzed and lost consciousness in a situation of extreme fear. Shi Kuang saw that Chang An looked wrong and knew that the situation was not good, so he looked at the person who was still sleeping. Yang Bai and Chang Sheng said
"Brother Chang, I'm afraid it won't work anymore. You'd better take them and escape for your life."
Chang An simply did it.
"I have no intention of leaving."
Shi Kuang was surprised
"Why."
Chang An said
"The murderer has not been found yet."
Shi Kuang yelled
"How can you find the murderer when the devil kills someone? Run for your life!"
A breeze passed by, bringing with it an annoying sound of insects. Chang An looked at Shi Kuang, and a small insect landed on Shi Kuang's face. In Chang An's pupils, the small insect gradually grew larger. , until it filled Chang An’s entire pupils.
"call!"
Shi Kuang only felt a gust of wind brushing his cheek at an extremely fast speed, taking away something.
"Oh it's you!"
A cold voice came from Chang An's mouth.
